Five Heritage High School students and 11 Midland Public Schools students visit Lansing for the high school conference from Feb. 26 to March 2. Weeks later, 12 Heritage High School students and three Midland Public School students attend a second conference from March 19 to 23.

Dan Taylor, a teacher and Michigan Youth in Government staff adviser at Heritage High School, said the trip to Lansing gives students an opportunity to write, debate and revise legislation as if they were elected officials.

“They get a chance to get a very authentic experience of taking on the roles in state government,” he said. “It’s a very hands-on, real life approach to it.”

Heritage High School students attend a Michigan Youth in Government conference in 2013.Courtesy | Dan Taylor

The Michigan Youth in Government conferences welcome more than 500 students from more than 40 different schools throughout Michigan at each event. As a program of the State YMCA of Michigan, the conferences are open to all middle and high school students interested in government, and scholarships are available.

“This experience will be invaluable to students,” Brent Veysey, executive director of Michigan Youth in Government, said in a prepared statement. “They will become temporary legislators and will learn how the legislation process works.”

Students spend five days at the Capitol debating, writing bills and lobbying their positions on issues they’ve researched during the school year. Debate topics include mandating women register with selective service system and an amendment to limit the number of terms for U.S. Congress. Students also conduct legislative sessions in the House and Senate chambers.

Taylor said he encourages students to write legislation about things that directly affect them, such as education or transportation. Some students tackle other topics they feel strongly about, he continued, such as healthcare or personal rights.

While there is a lot of negativity surrounding the government today, Taylor said, Michigan Youth in Government gives students an opportunity to learn about how to be more responsible and active citizens.

“They come away with a much more positive, more optimistic sense of the possibilities of government and what they can do in a position of leadership,” he said.